The Bible I Use on My iPhone

I have been a proud iPhone user since shortly after the revolutionary Apple device was introduced. I did not get an iPhone immediately when it was available because I had a contract with Sprint (yuk). Once freed from my Sprint obligation, my son and I quickly went out and purchased iPhones.

What’s amazing is that my nearly 3-year-old iPhone is better and more advanced than most new smart cellphones being introduced onto the market today.

Uses for my iPhone have expanded greatly since I became a proud owner of this amazing device. In addition to the touch interface, the availability of applications is the what really sets the iPhone apart from the competition.

Today’s hectic and mobile world means a lot of people look to technology to help organize and simplify their lives, and I am no different. In addition to helping me stay on top of my family’s busy schedule (calendar), and keep my contacts organized, having an iPhone helps me to track email much better; allowing me to better serve pastors and others who contact me related to my ministry.

Additionally, I blog from my iPhone, take notes, listen to Podcasts, watch movies, take photographs, shoot video, update my status via Twitter, check on what friends are doing on Facebook, Google continually, record audio notes, check sporting event scores, play games…and whew! The list goes on and on. All this from a mini computer that fits in my pocket!

But perhaps most importantly, I use my iPhone as an ever present Bible reading, reference and study tool.

There are a lot of great Bible apps in the iTunes store, and I have tried or used nearly all of the free ones. They include excellent titles such as Logos Bible Software, YouVersion, Holy Bible by Paul Avery, Bible by LifeChurch.TV, BibleReader by Olive Tree and many, many more…both free and paid.

While PocketSword may not be the most popular (or costliest) choice, it’s the one that I have settled on and use daily. PocketSword is by Crosswire Bible Society (http://CrossWire.org/sword), which also publishes MacSword and BibleDesktop for the Mac and various other titles for Windows and Linux. After having used it now for the past several months, PocketSword is officially an essential part of my “cyber” spiritual lifestyle!

One of the main things I was looking for in a Bible app for my iPhone was offline use. Like most, I have a data connection most of the time, but because I travel frequently, I needed a Bible that’s accessible offline (while in Airplane Mode).

PocketSword fits the bill nicely. One of the things I like most about PocketSowrd is that my favorite Bible version, ESV (English Standard Version), is available free for download. Also, both Matthew Henry’s complete and concise  commentaries are free for download.

Modules for PocketSword are many, free and include a variety of language versions. There’s  a robust Thompson Chain Reference (TCR) dictionary that includes supporting scripture references and facts concerning scripture listings.

iPhone’s cut and paste feature is supported universally, making it extremely easy to save key passages or place into a sermon, study or other document.

There’s a handy Bible History feature that tracks your past searches and scripture passages for easy retrieval. A search feature allows the user to quickly move about the Bible for phrases and occurrences of a particular word. A search on “Jesus wept,” for example – (a help menu is provided to assist the user) – quickly brought up John 11:35.

Preferences that may be set by the user include font size, night mode, verses per line, cross-reference, footnotes, font and red letter; in addition to Strong’s Numbers. Morphology and original languages.

 All and all, there’s not a better choice – at least for free – to read and reference the Bible on your iPhone. PocketSword covers all the bases.

Check out the programmer’s blog here.